


Just Give Me a Reason

by Mr_Stylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 2011, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Brotherly Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cyberbullying, Fetus Direction, Gen, Harry-centric, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Harry, M/M, Minor Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, OT5 Friendship, Protective Liam, Protective Louis, Protective Niall, Protective Zayn, Red or Black, Self-Doubt, Social Media, Twitter, What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 07:51:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10566882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Stylinson/pseuds/Mr_Stylinson
Summary: "Why do people hate me?" is a question Harry is more than desperate to figure out the answer to after reading through negative comments on Twitter about his "What Makes You Beautiful" performance on Red or Black. But this new addiction could potentially decide his fate as a part of One Direction unless the other boys are able to convince their youngest member that his value is defined by far more than a bunch of dumb online comments.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Story takes place AFTER this performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6tA8aF2gso

“Harry, please stop doing this to yourself.”

“I'm sorry, Ni, but I just can't. I have to know why.”

Harry had lost count how many times he'd been begged to stay off of Twitter, or at least stay away from that dreaded comment thread, but he couldn't help it. He was so drawn to it, like an insect to a bug zapper, which was an ironically fitting way to describe it. Part of him knew that he was doing more harm than good by scrolling through all those comments regarding the band's most recent performance, but his curiosity was too strong to ignore it. It was on his mind constantly. It left a question in his head that he didn't think he could live without knowing the answer to, and with thousands of comments at the ready for his bloodshot eyes to scan over, surely he would find what he was looking for in there somewhere.

If someone were to say that they hated his singing, that was tolerable. Harry could easily handle that sort of criticism. In fact, he often welcomed it on many occasions. It was something he could always as leverage to work to improve himself.

But if all that someone says is “I hate you.”, that's just a broad statement with no immediate reasoning behind it, but with a very prominent impact. And it had millions of possible conclusions, it drove him crazy not knowing precisely which one it is. Was it the way he dressed? The way he looked? He ran as many excuses as he could think of through his brain, but the logical part of him always landed on the likelihood that the comments are referring to him as an individual, and nothing more.

If someone says that they dislike a certain attribute of yours, you can usually do something about it, though some things are not easily changed. However, when someone says that they dislike you personally and leave it at that, Harry was desperate for a reason why they would feel that way towards him.

And so he continues to indulge in the poison known as That Comment Thread on Twitter, finding a positive comment periodically, but those weren't what he was looking for, he was searching relentlessly for a comment that offered any explanation at all as to why people hated him. He refused to settle with a simple “I hate you.”, there just _had_ to be a reason behind the use of those words.

For a while, the rest of the band let him be as he read through the horrible comments. They even read a few themselves just to get an idea on what was being said about their youngest member, but they could only do so for so long. The material was so awful that they worried for Harry's sanity if they allowed him to continue reading them much longer. They knew he wanted nothing more right now than some closure, but from what they had all seen within that comment thread, they doubted that anything of that nature would ever be found.

It was starting to affect Harry's sleep, he would lie in bed, unable to rest, his yearning for an explanation, even just a slight hint, as to why people held such harsh feelings towards him always swirling around in his head. He would be the only one in the morning with bags under his eyes, which vibrant green color was now dark and dull. Yawning constantly throughout the day, often looking like he was going drop his face right onto his dinner plate and fall asleep right there. And yet, if there was an opportunity, he would always have the energy to pull out his phone and resume his futile search.

They knew it was only a matter of time before fans and media outlets alike would notice the deterioration of Harry, and that would only result in a downward spiral from there. Harry's emotional state right now is rather fragile, and the last thing he needed was the rest of the world pestering him, adding more weight to his already burdened shoulders. It was bad enough when they learned that they were scheduled to perform their debut single live yet again, this time on the Late Late Show in the upcoming month of November, which means they have just two months to recollect themselves before showing their faces to millions of people once more.

Of course, Louis, Zayn, Liam, and Niall weren't concerned about themselves in the slightest, all they were worried about was Harry. To most people, two months should be more than enough time to grieve, but they just were not sure. It has been a week already since their Red and Black show, yet Harry still remained glued to that damn comment thread whenever he had the chance. It was starting to get out of hand, as if his sleep deprivation wasn't enough. If they were at a restaurant, Harry would either sit a menu upright on the table or set his phone his lap, trying to conceal himself even when the others knew exactly what he was doing. If they were seeing a movie, one of them would have to remind him to keep his phone off, lest he get kicked out of the theater. If the five of them were simply hanging out together, Harry always made the least noise as he sat wherever, silently swiping his thumb vertically across the screen of his phone, still on a fruitless hunt for something he will never quite find.

They had all tried to reassure him, but it never seemed to work. All those hateful comments about him were engraved into his mind, it was like he was no longer capable of acknowledging his positives, and it ached his bandmates seeing him like this.

They know Harry, he is one of the kindest, most caring individuals they have the pleasure of calling their friend. The boy didn't have a bad bone in his body, and to think that people could say such terrible things about him was beyond upsetting. Liam still distinctively recalls having to calm Zayn down after he'd nearly punched a hole in the wall of their hotel room, while trying hard not to do the same himself.

Niall tried his best to make Harry laugh, the ever-beaming ball of sunshine that the Irishman was, but he couldn't get him to crack. Not even Louis, who was undeniably the closest to Harry than the rest of them, had been successful in bringing back the cheery bundle of curls they all missed.

They didn't give up just yet, their attempts to intervene became more drastic.

It didn't take long for Harry to realize that while he'd been in the shower, someone had taken his phone, which was still logged into his Twitter account, changed his password and logged him off. He had his suspicions as to who was responsible, but he refrained from expressing them to anyone. The tactic, whosever idea it was, didn't last, as he was able to regain access using the password retrieval feature. He made sure to limit his phone usage around the other boys in order to not give them a clue as to what he was still doing. His desperation to solve that mystery was as strong as ever, he'd resorted to making up an excuse to go off somewhere so he could freely read through the Twitter comments without someone inquiring about what he was doing, then telling him to stop. The comments had only increased in numbers during his involuntary “break”, which only drove his motivation to keep reading them.

However, the excuse of “I need to call my mum”, which was indeed something he tried to do at least once a day, only worked twice. After the second time he'd hid away somewhere using that ploy, Louis had called Anne on his phone, since he had her number, as well as the parents of the other three boys, and likewise, they all had the contact information of each others families. He was surprised when Anne had picked up, and It soon dawned on Louis that her son was in fact not having a conversation with his mother over the phone like he'd originally thought. After saying goodbye, Louis stormed over to where he'd last seen Harry disappear around the corner. He spotted the boy quietly sitting on the pavement beside a dumpster, face buried in the screen and clearly not on any phone call.

Harry was too engrossed to notice Louis stomping over to him, and before he knew it, his phone was ripped from his fingers. He shot his head up at the thief, his expression turning into a mix of shock and fear as he met the glare of a very disappointed Louis.

Louis took a short glance at the device in his grip, and surprise, surprise, Twitter was open, negative comments popping in by the second, moving older ones downward. _Can't these people just let it go already?_ He looked down at Harry, who was still cowering slightly under Louis' disapproving stare, his head bowed in shame, obviously waiting for the reprimanding he knew he deserved. Louis did want to yell at Harry for his tardiness, but he knew that that wouldn't be the wisest course of action, and it would only hurt his friend even more, as well as himself. Instead, he shut his eyes and sighed heavily, calming his nerves.

“You can't keep doing this to yourself, Harry. It's going to wreck you.”

Harry nodded then sniffled as tears slowly cascaded down his face. “I know, but, I just want to find out...”

“Find out what?” Louis questioned, even though he already knew the answer to that question.

“Why do people hate me?”

“Harry, they don't hate you.” Louis insisted, he leaned over and gently wiping away Harry's tears with his thumb.

“How do you know? They said so themselves.”

“And have _any_ of them explained why?” Louis raised an eyebrow.

“Well, no, I'm still trying to figure that out.” Harry said as he stared at his phone which was still in Louis' hand.

“Harry, please listen to me.” Louis rubbed his forehead. “These random arseholes, they don't deserve all this attention you've been giving them. They're never going to give you a reason. And them saying that they hate you doesn't mean anything. They don't know you, and they cannot accurately talk about you like that. Besides, there are plenty more people who rooting for you, and who care about you. Fuck what those people on Twitter are saying.”

“But,” Harry argued. “Surely there's got to be a reason in there somewhere, there just has to be.”

A ghost of a smile formed on Louis' face. “Harry, you're gonna be fat and old before you find it, so it's just as well that you drop it and leave those sorry bastards to their own miserable lives.” He stuck out a hand to the younger man who was still sitting on the ground. “Now come along, let's enjoy the rest of this beautiful day, yeah?”

Harry knew he wasn't going to win this argument, but he also knew that Louis was very much correct. Mentally waving a white flag, he sighed. “All right.” He accepted Louis' aid and pulled himself to his feet. Louis' smile grew as he wrapped an arm around the curly-haired lad and they strolled together Harry gazed longingly at his phone, which was still in Louis' grasp.

“Can I have my phone back, please?”

Louis looked at him before stuffing the phone into the pocket of his red trousers, patting at the rectangular bulge. “Sorry, love, but I gotta say no this time.” Harry pouted but chose not to negotiate. Louis chuckled and playfully ruffled the younger boy's hair. The edge's of Harry's mouth made the tiniest movement upward, and a feeling of satisfaction washed over Louis as they continued off into the surprisingly sunny day.

* * *

Louis spoke with the other lads and sometime later in the evening, the five of them went to a nearby Nando's. For the first time in what feels like forever, Harry is talkative, he made his usual lame jokes, he didn't try to conceal himself, considering Louis was still holding his phone captive, but he never asked for it once since earlier in the day. The other boys were very glad to see their baby brother happy for a change, and it confirmed their suspicions that reading through that God-awful Twitter thread was draining him, and him being forced to go on through the day, even just a few hours, without having to read some random twat telling him to kill himself was certainly making a difference.

While Niall had Zayn and Harry occupied with some story, Liam leaned over and whispered. “Well done, Louis.”

“Thanks.” Louis beamed. “I'm just really glad to see the boy perking up finally. Should have just taken his phone away in the first place.”

While it might've seemed like an impossibly short amount of time, the boys were nearly convinced that they finally had the old Harry back, it was almost like the past several days never happened. The color In his eyes was returning, he no longer looked like a zombie, or like he would burst into tears any second. And the solution couldn't have been any more simple: keep Harry off of Twitter, although it required a little more effort than just trying to convince him that he wasn't doing himself any favors by allowing other peoples' cruel words to fill his conscience, it's not like forcefully keeping his phone away from him was a difficult task or anything. The poor boy didn't need to keep reading all those despicable things about him either way. At least he hasn't been willing to protest, because they all knew that Harry was aware of the damage he was inflicting upon himself, and it seemed like all it really took was his bandmates to step in to put in end to it. After all, they are all Harry's big brothers, it is their job to protect him, and they are more than willing to do so, by any means necessary.

“How you doing, Haz?” Louis asked.

“I'm doing lovely, thank you.” Harry answered, a happy smile plastered on his features, which was quite contagious concerning the rest of the boys.

“That's wonderful to hear, Harry.” Zayn reach over and squeezed his shoulder, then Niall leaned over and wrapped his arms around the younger singer.

“Oh, I'm so glad you're feeling better, mate. We all are.”

“That's right.” Liam confirmed with a nod. “Nobody's gonna be hurting our Harry, not under our watch.”

Harry sighed with content. He was truly lucky to have these boys in his life, and even after the way he acted during the previous week, they didn't give up and turn away, they kept on fighting for him. By now, he was feeling a little silly for getting so worked up over a few nasty comments. How could he ever allow himself to let them affect him so much when he's still got his mum, sister, the boys, and many more adoring fans? They were all the ones who really mattered. And what about those haters on Twitter? What are they gonna do? Tell him to jump off a cliff? If Harry had a pound for every time he'd read a comment like that...

“Guys, I'm really sorry about the past week, you all tried to help me, but I didn't listen.” Harry offered as he looked down at the table.

“Don't worry about it, Harry.” Niall suggested, patting his shoulder. “We still love you, and nothing's ever gonna change that.”

“And millions of people around the world feel the same way.” Zayn reassured.

Harry's smile never faltered. “Thanks, lads. It really means a lot.”

Louis briefly tapped his chin in thought. “Hey, why don't we all go to mine and Harry's flat and watch movies and eat junk?”

Niall eagerly cried out in agreement, he stood up from his seat and clapped once. “Yeah! Let's do it!”

“But we just ate.” Liam protested.

Before they knew it, they were hurrying from their table to catch up with the blonde boy, carefully maneuvering around other patrons, but Niall skidded to a stop at the door, his excitement had now vanished. “Um, we have a situation.”

The others looked through the glass and took in the numerous vehicles and dozens of people crowding in the parking lot. Endless bright flashes had already began to assault their vision along with the sound of cameras clicking.

“It's the bloody paps.” Louis noted.

“How did they know we were here?” Zayn wondered.

“Somebody must have tipped them off.” Liam scanned around the restaurant, as if spotting the potential suspect would change their current situation.

“They're not going to go away anytime soon. So, let's just do what we usually do.” Harry proposed. Reluctantly, the group exited the building and made their way into the herd. Question after question was thrown their way and microphones were shoved into their faces. This would have been semi tolerable, except for one thing.

“Harry, Harry Styles!” Some random bloke called out. “Is it true that you lip-sync?”

“Are you planning on quitting One Direction?” A woman asked.

“What are your thoughts on Twitter's ongoing reaction to your performance last week?”

“No, nononono...” Harry now regretted his decision to just face the mob. He felt his chest tighten as he struggled to breath steadily, he clenched his fists and held them over his torso, the flashing of the cameras emphasizing his growing dizziness as he shut his eyes and shook his head, repeating “no” to himself. Sounds became muffled, the horrendous words from all those comments he had read played aloud in his mind. He choked back a sob, failing to prevent the tears welled up beneath his eyelids from pouring out down his cheeks, for all these people to see. By now he was lost in his own hell, completely unaware of four older boys who were fretting over him.

“Harry's having a panic attack.” Zayn urged. “We need to get him out of here. Now.” He and Louis positioned themselves in front of the trembling figure while Niall and Liam swept from behind. They all surrounded Harry and acted as a walking shield as they pushed their way through the crowd of obnoxious reporters and journalists and their blasphemous questions.

“Excuse me, Mr. Styles!” An individual attempted to force their way between Liam and Louis in order to get to Harry, who immediately whimpered and shrunk away from the unwanted presence. “Is it true the band is threatening to kick you out over your performance?”

“Piss off!” Louis yelled at the rude woman. She took a couple steps back and looked genuinely shocked. Louis didn't pass her a second glance as he pushed more people out of the way. He wasn't concerned in the slightest about what would show up on the tabloids in the morning regarding his outburst, getting Harry to safety was all that mattered right now. Another man tried to slip a microphone through a crack in their makeshift shield, but Zayn took one hand and smacked it away, the object fell out of the man's grip and onto the ground. Liam mustered the most threatening glare he could, trying to silently give the message that they were not interested in speaking with anyone. Niall leaned forward to Harry's right ear and tried to keep the curly-haired lad calm.

“Just keep listening to my voice, yeah? You're doing good, Haz. We're almost to the car, just keep walking. You're okay, we're all here for you. That's it, that's it. We're almost there.”

Finally, the waiting car was in sight as they trudged through the last of the crowd. No sooner had the last of them piled into the car, Louis told their driver “Get us the hell out of here.” The driver nodded and inched the vehicle forward. People tried futilely to snap more pictures through the tinted windows as they drove away.

Harry buried his face into Louis' chest, Niall reached over Louis and continued to massage Harry's shoulder while Zayn rubbed the younger singer's back.

Liam exhaled as he relaxed into the seat. “Are you all right, Harry?”

Harry emitted a whine, keeping his place on Louis. “I just want to go home.”

The driver felt like if he could actually hear the collective sound of four hearts breaking in response to the boy, (or was that his own?). He did hear Louis whisper reassuring words to Harry as they drove to their flat. When they got there, he announced their arrival and the five young men climbed out of the car and walked tiredly to Harry's and Louis' abode.

Harry collapsed on the sofa, he leaned back and rested his head against the cushion. Louis sat to his left, an arm draped over his shoulders. Niall sat to Harry's right, Liam settled on the armrest next to Niall, and Zayn took a pillow and sat on the coffee table, facing Harry with an expression of concern.

Harry groaned and rubbed his face, he was beyond exhausted after the ordeal outside of Nando's, and he could only imagine how people were probably reacting, seeing him cry like a baby, since there were likely hundreds of photos circulating the internet right this moment. Part of him wanted to look and see if his suspicions were true, but Louis still had his phone, and in Harry's current state, there was no way he could convince Louis to hand it over, and even if he did, one of the other lads would certainly intervene.

Then it occurred to him, he'd been trying for so long to find a reason, any reason, as to why people hated him, and yet maybe the answer has been there the whole time. He pictured how he probably looked in front the cameras, his face wet with tears as he hid behind his bandmates like a coward. That must be why people don't like him. Who would be a fan of a 17-year old crybaby? He was weak, he relied on the other boys to hold him together, and he wondered if they secretly got tired of it. While there has been no indication that the rest of them were tired of babysitting him, a feeling of doubt still lingered within, not that it was a new feeling or anything, especially with how he felt while reading through that comment thread for so many hours during the past week. And just when things were improving, all those people show up, asking him things that he should have been able to answer, but couldn't. He mentally kicked himself for looking so pathetic in front of that crowd, and he predicted that it would only add fuel to the fire that never seemed to die ever since that performance.

As he began to imagine what people might be saying about him right this very moment, his eyes got warm again. He tried furiously to wipe away the new stream of tears, and of course, all of the boys noticed and they drew in closer. It wasn't that Harry minded their company, he was very much glad to have them all near him, but he felt bad, because they could all be doing something a lot more fun than watching over weak little Harry, and even if they said they were fine, he wasn't completely convinced, and he would never blame them if they actually felt differently.

His mind fell onto one of the questions he was asked back outside of Nando's. _Are you planning on quitting One Direction?_

 _Quit? No. God, no!_ He could never do that, the mere thought hadn't even crossed his mind. What made someone even asked such a thing? Perhaps there were rumors floating around from some news site that Harry couldn't care less about. And yet, here he sat, trying to visualize what it would be like if he'd thrown in the towel after getting eliminated from The X-Factor, had he not been willing to join the group of losing contestants that Simon Cowell had put together that would eventually become one of the world's most popular boybands, had he put his singing dreams on a back burner and aimed for a simpler, more practical future.

Nothing sounded satisfying, he just could not imagine life without Niall, Zayn, Liam, and most of all, Louis, he simply could not. But as he dwelled over all those comments “I hate you”, he began to seriously doubt his place as an international popstar. People in this field deal with these things all the time, and despite it all, they are able to continue on with their lives and careers, with supporting family, friends, and fans alike, which Harry definitely had, but there still seemed to be an empty space inside him, one that the cruel people from that Twitter thread managed to create, and no amount of reassurance or support seemed to fill it back up.

It was a cruel set of circumstances. Harry had everything he needed, but he still allowed a bunch of random dickheads on a social media site take control of his confidence and self-esteem. This shouldn't be happening, he should be able to laugh it off and move on, just like how everybody else is able to do, but he couldn't. The agonizing question “Why do people hate me?” was always there, nearly all the time. The people who were close to him would remind him that he is a worthwhile individual, and he shouldn't get worked up about some bad comments on the internet. He couldn't help it, there wasn't much of an alternative way to describe it. If someone says they don't like him, he must know why, he didn't care about what the reason was, just so long as there was a reason to begin with, and he firmly believed that no matter what anyone said, there was always a reason behind it, always.

In his own mind, this was a weakness for someone in his position, but he's only human, being “famous” didn't change the fact that words still had quite an impact on him. As much as he strives to be like the people who didn't care that much about what other people said about them, chances are high that he will never truly be that type of person.

Once again, he pondered if he was honestly cut out for this life. If he can be so easily affected by other peoples' remarks towards him, maybe it would ultimately be the best course of action to reconsider his future. He despised the idea of letting the boys down, and just when he felt that perhaps he's simply not thinking straight, those blasted comments would invade his head, reminding him over and over again why dropping out of his music career could even possibly be worth considering.

It wouldn't be as easy as saying “I quit”, but truth be told, he felt that he could handle it. As much as he loved singing, especially with his brothers, he had thought through this long-term, he couldn't imagine himself lasting much longer if his stance on negative comments were to remain the same. Even with so much support, he wasn't sure if he would last another two years, if that. So many thoughts ran through his mind by now, the reaction of the boys if he were to actually call it quits and ditch the band, or the reaction of the haters, cheering as they successfully drove away a rising star from a life of fame, or worse yet, them mocking him even further. Even if he were return to the life as an average Joe, many people would still recognize him as Harry Styles from One Direction, his current fame would stick with him for a long time, and he wasn't quite sure if that would necessarily be a good thing. Because then people might see him as the way he fears that they do currently, weak. But surely they would lose interest sooner than later, they would eventually find someone else to go after and forget all about him.

He thought about his mum and his sister, Gemma. He missed them and It certainly would be nice to see them more often. He stopped his train of thought there and started weighing in on his options. He could stay in the band and continue to live his passion, while also being reduced to a sobbing mess whenever some twat says something mean about him. He could give up on his dream that was finally in his grasp, and hopefully get away from the scrutiny of the internet community, but then he would be letting his brothers down, and he wasn't sure if he could live with himself knowing that he would be the sole cause of One Direction's downfall. But would it be any different either way? Again, he couldn't be certain that he would last for very long if he continued to be as sensitive as he was when it comes to Twitter threads, it almost seemed like one of those 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situations.

And that was when Harry finally broke the silence that had filled the apartment, he cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention, and as expected, he was met with four shocked gazes once the words rolled out of his mouth.

“I'm think I should quit the band.”

After another long pause with mouths hanging open, Niall was the first to speak.

“No,” The blonde said quietly. “Harry, no, you can't.”

“I'm sorry.” Harry sniffled, his voice sounding more and more croaked. “I just don't think I can keep doing this. I'm afraid if I stick around much more, it's going to hurt the band.”

“Bullshit.” Louis argued. “Harry, listen to yourself, that's not you talking, it's all those bastards online.”

“Louis is right.” Liam said. “Harry, this seems like a very hasty decision. I really think you should take some more time to think it through.”

“I haven't made up my mind just yet.” Harry defended. “What I'm saying is that I'm taking it into consideration.” He sighed and stared at his lap. “I'm sorry I'm such a baby.”

“Harry, you're not.” Zayn insisted. “All those people can say whatever they want, it will never change who you really are, because you know yourself better than any of those people could ever wish to.”

“I just don't know.” Harry finally said. “I wish I wasn't bothered so much by what people are saying about me, but I just am. That's part of who I am, and I wish I could change that, but I can't. I worry way too much about not being good enough, or how other people feel about me. It's tiring, and I just want to not think about it anymore.” He let out a shaky breath. “That's why I think it would be best if I left One Direction. I'll only slow you guys down.”

The older boys all wanted to counter what they'd just heard, they didn't believe any of it, they refused to. But seeing Harry in his current condition managed to drain all the arguments they had left in them. Harry winced as he took in the looks of defeat and sadness on everyone else's features. He knew that they weren't doing it on purpose and that they still cared. This was confirmed when Liam spoke up again.

“Whatever you do decide, Harry, we'll support you no matter what. Please, always remember that.”

Harry swallowed a lump in his throat. “Thanks, Liam. It really means a lot to me.” Soon, the silence returned with a vengeance, you could practicality hear a pin drop on the floor. Everyone remained where they were seated, either examining an interesting spot on the wall or twiddling their fingers. Harry noticed the awkwardness and tried to alleviate it.

“Um, if you guys would rather do something, it's okay. You don't have to sit around here.”

“Would you like for us to leave?” Zayn asked.

“No, no.” Harry quickly affirmed. “I'm really glad you're all here, it's just that I don't want you to feel like you have to stick around if you don't want to.”

“Not a chance.” Niall stated. “If... if this might be one of the last times we get to spend together as One Direction, then I wanna spend it with you, Harry.”

“I second that.” Liam said.

“Same here.” Zayn added.

“You know me, love, I'm staying right here.” Louis leaned over and kissed Harry's cheek. Harry smiled sadly before yawning.

“I'm really tired.” His eyelids were growing heavy.

An imaginary lightbulb popped above Louis' head, he reached over and grabbed the large duvet that was on the armrest next to him. He draped it over himself and Harry before tossing the other end over to Liam. Niall scooted closer to Harry to allow Liam some room on the seat, Louis did the same for Zayn, who hopped up from his spot on the table and squeezed himself between Louis and the other armrest. Harry sighed with content with having his best mates all next to him, he snuggled into the blanket, comfortably wedged between Louis and Niall.

“May we sing to you, Harry?” Louis asked softly.

Harry only nodded as he blinked tiredly. A familiar soothing tune emitted from Louis' lips, and as the words began, the other three boys quickly caught on and gradually joined in.

 _You are our sunshine, our only sunshine._ Louis brought his face against Harry's before planting another gentle kiss on the younger boy's cheek.

 _You make us happy when skies are gray._ Liam reached around Niall and massaged his fingers through Harry's soft curls.

 _You'll never know, Haz, how much we love you._ Niall tilted his head and nuzzled into the crook of Harry's neck.

 _Please don't take our sunshine away._ Zayn finished by taking Harry's left hand and cupping it between both of his.

Harry's tired eyes slowly lifted open and his bottom lip quivered. He tried to hold back a sob threatening to escape for what it was worth, but he lost the battle and soon the others were looking at him with concern again. Harry gave in and let his emotions flow freely. He quickly wiped away his tears and brought his arms up to pull in the four boys with hopes that it would get them to stop apologizing for making him cry.

“Shit, Harry, we didn't mean to make you feel bad.” Louis stammered. Harry effectively cut him off by bringing their lips together.

“Don't worry, you didn't.” He chuckled in spite of the tears still forming and falling. “I'd like to think of it as a much needed reminder about where I belong in this world.”

“And where is that?” Zayn asked curiously.

“With all of you lads.” Harry answered before turning his head to the left. "Especially Louis." The older boy grinned.

“Wait,” Niall piped in. “So, does that mean that you're...” His hopes were on the rise.

“Well, I've figured that no matter what happens or what anyone says, we will always be together. Nothing can truly keep us apart... Not even distance.”

“Oh.” And then his hopes dropped.

“And our offer still stands,” Liam reminded. “We will always support you, Harry, even if you feel that it's best to leave.”

“Good, I'm glad.” Harry sighed. “Because I think I have finally made up my mind.”

“Yeah? And what answer is swirling around in your curly little head?” Louis pried.

Harry smiled as he looked at each of his bandmates.

“I'm not quitting the band.”

The distinctive sound of a phone vibrating was heard and everyone froze. Louis reached down and removed Harry's phone that was still in the pocket of his trousers. He glared at a notification from Twitter beaming at the top of the screen. He shot a sly look at Harry, while exchanging a knowing glace with the others.

“I'll buy you a new one.” Louis suddenly promised before tossing the device over his shoulder. Harry cringed as a brief but loud cracking noise rang out from behind the couch.

The murdered cell phone was soon forgotten as Louis, Niall, Liam, and Zayn resumed cuddling their beloved baby brother.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Story takes place BEFORE this performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpShc0gZie8
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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